Kingdoms at War
by Shuzuka
Summary: Perfect Pair AU. Rikkaidai and Seigaku are two of the most powerful kingdoms, and they are at war. Tezuka is made captain of the Seigaku Elites with Fuji as his vice-captain. Sacrifices are made and risks are taken.
1. Prologue

This is my first fic, so please don't judge it too harshly :) It's an AU samurai kind of fic, but there are some changes to a regular samurai universe. If anyone wants to continue reading this piece of crap my brain thought up, feel free to leave a review :) This chapter is only a start to the original story I have planned, so the story really hasn't actually started. I guess it's a prologue then? Anyways, please review if you can because I can really use some criticism or any comments. I hope you guys enjoy the prologue :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in here. They belong to Konomi Takeshi and it's probably better that way. :P

* * *

Rikkaidai and Seigaku were not always on good terms with each other. Both powerful kingdoms, it would not be wise to wage war against the other. To stay on good terms, the kings and queens agreed to have a festival held at the kingdom of Seigaku.

Everyone was free to come and go as they please, even the poorest of the poor. Noble families, however, were the special guests to this festival. The most famous from Seigaku were the Tezuka and Fuji families. From Rikkaidai were the Sanada and Yukimura families. All 4 noble families had sons of the same age of 14. These teens would soon be taking over their respected households. As such, the citizens respected these boys, even the kings and queens.

* * *

"Hey," a voice called out. It came from the son of the Fuji family, Fuji Syuusuke. Popular with almost everyone, this blue-eyed boy is rumored to be extrememly attractive to the girls. He always has his eyes closed, with a smile on his face. His hair has a somewhat strange color of honey brown. No wonder he's popular with the ladies.

"Ah, hello," came the reply from Tezuka Kunimitsu. Like Fuji, the girls find him attractive, but in different ways than Fuji. You can say that he is very different to Fuji in terms of looks and personality since Tezuka has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and wears glasses. The main difference is that Tezuka NEVER smiles and always has a stoic mask on.

As they started talking to each other, they got along pretty well, even though there were many differences between them. Actually, it was mostly Fuji talking, receiving short replies or simple "Hn's." Despite this, they were both comfortable communicating like this. You might say it's weird, but strangely, it wasn't for these boys.

As the two boys from Seigaku got along, something similar was happening with Sanada Genichirou and Yukimura Seiichi. Sanada was like Tezuka, and Yukimura was like Fuji. Tezuka and Sanada were the quiet, never smiling, strict, and stoic ones. Fuji and Yukimura were considered as sadists by their families. And they smile, unlike the other two. Sanada's hair color is a mix of black and blue, whereas Yukimura's color is blue.

* * *

The 4 boys enjoyed themselves at the festival and got to know their new friends until they were called for by their parents. Everyone was gathered around an area that looked like a combat ground.

"As a special event, we will be holding exhibition matches between the noble families from both kingdoms," announced Queen Ryuzaki of Seigaku. "But, we are doing something a little different today," she continued, "the fights will be between the sons of the families." Everyone was eager to watch the upcoming matches between the young boys. Many names were called, but the match that was a must-see was between Sanada and Tezuka.

The two boys' families had high expectations of them, so anyone would think that these boys will put up an impressive fight. Pride was also on the line. As they both stepped up to the grounds, Fuji and Yukimura wished both of them luck.

Being just an event, wooden katanas were given instead of real ones. As they waited a little longer for the match to start, people murmured to each other, talking about who they thought would win. The people from Seigaku obviously thought Tezuka would win. On the other hand, the people that came from Rikkaidai strongly supported Sanada's victory.

Tezuka had won in an instant. The spectators were absolutely shocked at this outcome, even the kings and queens. No one had expected Tezuka to win that quickly. Sanada felt utterly humiliated at this, so he challenged Tezuka to another fight.

"Things will be different this time, Tezuka," Sanada thought.

Sanada went on the offensive and swung swiftly and accurately. However, Tezuka countered all of those swings. Really angered now, Sanada got careless and was defeated, once again. Tezuka was unharmed, as he had been before they started.

Everyone had seen enough. No one criticized Sanada's skills or anything, but Sanada felt extremely ashamed for losing TWICE, and utterly defeated both times. No one dared say a word to Sanada after that match. No one wanted to make him feel more embarrassed that day.

Sanada vowed to get revenge on Tezuka that day. "Tezuka, I swear I'll pay you back one day…"

"At least you tried, right, Sanada?" Sanada turned around to see Yukimura casually smile at him. "Maybe he had way more training than you or something, so don't get too down." Sanada didn't reply to his blue-haired friend, thinking he shouldn't because he felt too ashamed to even talk to anyone.

* * *

"Congratulations, Tezuka."

"Ah, Fuji. Thank you."

Fuji smiled at him, as usual. "Hm... I didn't know you were that good, Tezuka."

"It's not that big of a deal," Tezuka replied.

"Haha, that's so like you."

* * *

"We hope everyone enjoyed themselves today. It's unfortunate, but this is where we end it," declared King Hitoshi from Rikkaidai.

The kings and queens of both kingdoms said their thanks and farewells, and eventually, everyone went home.

Although the festival was meant to strengthen the bonds between Rikkaidai and Seigaku, the two kingdoms erupted into war 4 years later.

* * *

"As everyone knows, we have been at war with Rikkaidai for two years now. Due to many losses and sacrifices, I have come to the decision that we need to end this war as soon as possible. There will be a draft in two days, so prepare yourselves to go into war. We have lost our king, so we cannot afford any more major deaths," Queen Ryuzaki announced.

* * *

"Syuusuke."

"Yes, father?"

"About the draft in two days, I am not as suitable for war as you are, so I will have you go in my place."

"I understand. "

* * *

An agent from Queen Ryuzaki's royal palace arrived in Tokyo two days later and announced the names of the families that will be drafted.

"Tezuka."

"Fuji."

"Oishi."

"Kikumaru."

"Kawamura."

"Inui."

"Momoshiro."

"Kaidoh."

Those were the last names that the agent called out.

"Every name that was called has to send a family member to the capital's military camp. If you are not present, we will drag you there by force," he finished.


	2. Yamato's Mission

There has been a change in the story since I find it difficult to write the plot I have planned out if it is set in the samurai period. The story will still be set when Rikkaidai and Seigaku are in war, but the soliders fight with swords. Unlike samurai, they don't serve one master, and don't commit seppuku is they lose a battle. They DO serve Queen Ryuzaki, however, but she is kind of like a sitting figure who gives control to higher ranking soldiers, like captain, commander, general, etc. Hopefully that makes sense to you guys. :P It might make a little bit more sense in this chapter, though. Oh, and every one of those names drafted in Tokyo are young men, around the ages of 18-25 or so. At this time the seniors are 20 years old, the juniors are 19, and the freshmen are 18.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Prince of Tennis. I only own the story.

* * *

**

The newly drafted soldiers made their way to the military base of Tokyo as the agent from the palace said. Every "commoner" stared at the 8 boys from nobility.

"Hey, see what you did, Viper? Everyone's staring at us cause of your ugly face! And why are you even HERE anyways? Someone with skills as lousy as yours wouldn't last a day here," Momoshiro yelled at Kaidoh.

"They're staring at us cause they noticed how retarded you are just by looking at you, dumbass! Unlike you who came here to play around, I came here for honor," Kaidoh replied.

"What'd you say, Viper?"

"You heard me."

"You wanna go?"

"Sure, bring it on!"

"They don't act like nobility, do they?" a newbie joked with his friend.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY? I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" both boys shouted in unison.

Aside from Momoshiro and Kaido, the other 6 teens knew each other when they were around, what, 12 years old? This was more like a reunion for them. As they chatted about how they've been doing, and that kind of stuff, a man dressed in a blue and white jacket with black pants approached the new soldiers.

"Don't you guys seem to be having fun in this time of war?"

Everyone gave him their undivided attention. "Who are you supposed to be?" someone asked.

"Me? I'm the captain of this division, Yamato Yuudai. Nice to meet you, everyone," Yamato replied.

Murmurs were heard through the crowd of the young men.

"Division?"

"I thought there was only one army."

"Now, settle down, guys. I will explain. As you all know, Queen Ryuzaki is trying to end this war as soon as possible. She made a separate division for young men around your ages. It's been around for about a year already," Yamato explained.

"So do we have some kind of cool name or something?"

"Are we even special to be in a separate division from the regular army?"

"You guys just love questions, don't you?" Yamato asked. "I don't know if it sounds cool to any or you or not, but this division is called the Seigaku Elites. As you can tell from the name, Queen Ryuzaki selected each of your families because you guys are still young and were trained to fight if called for. This base is only for the Elites. The regular army's base lies elsewhere in the kingdom."

"Now that it's getting late, we will give you guys a place to sleep. This base is pretty big, so there are separate wings for groups of 8. We will announce the people staying in their separate wings," the vce-captain said.

Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi, Kikumaru, Kawamura, Inui, Momoshiro, and Kaidoh ended up being in Wing A, much to Momo and Kaidoh's disgust.

"Ne, Tezuka, what do you think of this place so far?" Fuji inquired.

"I think that it's a big base to have different wings for groups of 8, but secure enough that we won't be attacked," Tezuka answered.

"Hm.. how do you feel about sleeping in the same place as me, then?" Fuji smirked.

Tezuka sighed and went to bed for the night.

* * *

Each and every one of the recruits were tested in knowledge and combat skills. Coming from nobility, Wing A had the best results. Training went on for a month. No one understood Yamato's true intentions since Queen Ryuzaki wanted to end the war as soon as possible. Why are they even training? They've already wasted one month.

A man walked towards the front gates of the Imperial Palace of Seigaku. He muttered something to the guards and they let him enter the palace. He made his way through the guards until he came to the door of the throne room. The final guards let him through the door and walked in the room.

"Ah, Yamato, you're back already? I assume you did what I secretly requested of you?"

Yamato gave her his usual smile and knelt to the queen.

"Yes, Ryuzaki-sama."

"I hope the month that you were there gave you some good results? A month is a lot of time in our current situation."

"It did give me good results."

"Then let's hear it."

* * *

What is this secret mission that Yamato received from the queen herself? Why is she taking this time to speak with him in person when she's THE queen?

I think I'll make this story a weekly update, but it depends since I've been really busy with school this semester. Oh well, that's what the weekend is there for, right? :P If I have extra time, I'll try to update sooner, so please R&R :) Thanks for reading :D


	3. Preparing for Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

Okay, I just realized what a retarded mistake I made, so now I have to change a part in here again. -.-

* * *

"About that, Ryuzaki-sama…"

"Hm? What's the matter, Yamato?" Queen Ryuzaki asked.

"Rikkaidai sent a letter to our camp regarding the outcome of our spies."

"Oh? So they found out?"

"Yes."

"Hm… And is there anything else?"

"Yes."

Queen Ryuzaki let out a sigh. "This can't be good. What else happened?"

"The letter also stated what they did to our spies. Rikkaidai claims that they still have them within their kingdom."

There was silence in the throne room for a while.

Finally the queen spoke. "What do you think they have done with them, then?"

"I believe they are trying to get answers out of them, or something of the sort. Using them for a hostage exchange is highly unlikely."

"I see. I also agree with you. Although I wish to safely rescue our soldiers, intruding in Rikkaidai is dangerous. Also, we don't know where they are being held at."

"However, I do not believe those spies know any crucial information, other than where our base is at. We can easily move it, so I do not think this will be a big problem for us."

"Wait, how is this 'good results?'"

"Well, that wasn't what I came here for today."

"Then do you suggest we focus on something else?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask but, when did the letter come?"

"About 3 weeks ago."

"Then you mean to tell me that you have been thinking of that 'something else' for the past 3 weeks?"

"Yes."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Well, the Elites are supposed to be…elite. However, we have lost many battles for the past year that the Elites were made. Rikkaidai seems to also know our strategies and such."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"That we appoint a new captain and vice-captain. The new soldiers have done amazingly well and their results are higher than our past soldiers. I believe this is a good opportunity to land a surprise attack on Rikkaidai."

"Yamato, the Elites are our special forces. I chose to have the force created. I hope the 3 weeks you've been at the base has gotten you some good candidates for the job. If you happen to choose the wrong person for the job, it could be fatal to us. You do understand what I mean, don't you?"

"Yes, I am fully aware of that, and our situation. However, I have tested the soldiers for 3 weeks. The results are fairly good. And most of all, I believe in the future captain, if you approve, of course. Since the Elites are your special force, it is only fair to ask for your approval."

"You seem to have thought about this a lot, haven't you? I see that you're really persistent on the new captain."

"Yes."

"Then tell me, who is it that you have such faith in?"

Yamato raised his head and smile confidently at the queen. "Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"Oh? The son of the Tezuka family?"

"Yes, that is correct. Ryuzaki-sama, surely you have seen his match with Sanada Genichirou at the festival 6 years ago."

"I have. The boy won both with ease, am I right?"

"Yes."

"Since you have so much faith in him, I am guessing he only improved over the past 6 years?"

A smile appeared on Yamato's face. "Yes, he has the best results in Wing A. And Wing A is better than the rest of the wings. He has the qualities of a leader, as well. I believe we can trust him with the captain's position for the Elites. I also believe he can guide us to victory in this war."

"But, Yamato, that means you will give up your position."

"Yes, I am perfectly aware of that."

"You really believe in this boy that much?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then let me ask you, what will happen if he goes missing or is unable to do his job?"

"I have thought of that and also picked out a vice-captain for him."

"Who?"

"Fuji Syuusuke. His strength and skills rival Tezuka's, so I believe he will make a good vice-captain, despite his playful attitude."

"All right, then. They will be appointed as the new captain and vice-captain tomorrow. And you, Yamato, will be moved to the regular army with your fellow veterans. Agreed?"

"Understood."

* * *

"Tezuka-kun."

"Hm? Ah, Yamato-buchou. Did you need something from me?"

"Yes, I would like for you to pass this message on to one of each wing member. They are to come to Training Field A near the wings. Tell your wing members to go there, as well. The scheduled time is today at 10:00 A.M."

"Understood."

* * *

"Eh? Everyone is to gather at Training Field A today?" Momo complained.

"Fsh… Didn't you hear him the first time, you idiot?" Kaidoh asked. "You really are an idiot, you know that? Oh wait, you don't BECAUSE you're too stupid to realize it."

"You wanna pick a fight with me, hissy bastard?" Momo shot back.

"Bring it, peach." Kaidoh replied.

"Hey, guys… Give it a break, okay? We all just woke up and we don't need all this commotion early in the morning," Kawamura said.

"Hm… if the captain calls us for a gathering on the same day, there is a 90.3% chance that it is important," Inui analyzed.

"Inui, you come up with really strange numbers, nya~," Kikumaru noticed.

"Eiji, it's Inui… He's the data analyzer, why else would he come up with strange numbers?" Oishi pointed out.

"Ne, Tezuka."

"Hn?"

"I kinda like being in this wing. What about you?" Fuji asked curiously.

"Hn… it's all right, I guess. Why do you like this particular wing, Fuji?"

Fuji answered with his usual sadistic grin. "Cause I get to tease you like this any time I want. And it's rather lively, don't you think?"

Tezuka sighed and left to pass the message on to the other wings.

* * *

"Queen Ryuzaki has come to this base to make an important announcement. So I ask that everyone gives her their undivided attention," Yamato said.

The commotion died down as everyone did what Yamato asked.

"Although this may be sudden, in an effort to bring the advantage to our side in this war, your captain and I have decided to try something different in the Elites' ranks. Captain Yamato and a few of the other soldiers will be moved into the regular army," the queen declared.

The young men were all shocked at this.

"Since he will be no longer be in the ranks of the Seigaku Elites, I will officially appoint another captain and vice-captain. Tezuka Kunimitsu and Fuji Syuusuke, step forward."

Tezuka and Fuji came forward to meet the queen.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu, I officially declare you the new captain of the Seigaku Elites with Fuji Syuusuke as your vice-captain. Lead us to victory with your fellow comrades."

* * *

The older soldiers left with Yamato to head for the regular army's base. Queen Ryuzaki went back to her palace to do her own business. Every soldier left in the Elites swarmed Tezuka and Fuji with praise and "Congratulations."

"It looks like I'll be working with you now, _buchou_," Fuji teased.

"Although I am glad that you made it to fukubuchou, you shouldn't tease your captain," Tezuka replied.

"Mou, you're no fun," Fuji pouted.

* * *

The Elites were only requested to assist the regular army when they are on defense most of the time. Since Seigaku hadn't been on offense yet, the Elites had a lot of time to themselves at the large base.

"Fuji, even though there's not a lot of work to do, would you mind helping me?" Tezuka asked as he looked at Fuji sharpening his katana.

"You're the _buchou_, though," Fuji replied. "Oh, and for the coming holiday, I need to go back to my family for something. I'll be back on Monday, so don't get too lonely without me."

"That's all right, but I have a feeling that our battle will come in a few days, so be prepared by then."

* * *

Fuji took his white horse and left the base of the Elites'. He rode on until he got to the Fuji manor. He led his horse to the stable and entered the main house.

"Syuusuke, you're back?"

"Yea, I decided to come home for the holiday, but I just wanted to come home to meet everyone again and I need to do something."

"Okay then, do what you need to. Lunch will be in 30 minutes, so come back by then."

With that being said, Fuji left the main house and walked to the family's sword maker.

"Oh, welcome back, Syuusuke-sama," the swordmaker greeted.

"Thank you, Ren."

"Did you need a weapon crafted here? I know that you don't come here just to say hi," Ren said.

"Yes, I want you to make a katana with the finest materials."

"Anything specific?"

"Make it all white. White _saya, sageo, tsuba, tsuka ito_, and I want a black engraving on the _saya_."

"What do you want engraved on it?"

"A name. Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"All right, I will have it done in about one month."

"I'll come to pick it up in a month then."

* * *

When the holiday ended, Fuji returned to the Elites' base. The first building he headed for was the captain and vice-captain's. "Tezuka, I'm back~," Fuji announced. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing much, some of us are preparing for a battle tomorrow. You and I are going to lead the troops in the battle. The rest of our wing members are going to stay here, with the majority of us. Only a few are going with us so make sure you get ready because we're leaving at 6 A.M."

"Oh, okay then."

As the Elites went to sleep for the night, the sounds of footsteps could be heard in the kingdom of Rikkaidai. A force of about 2,000 soldiers marched through the main camp of the kingdom. They marched out of the camp and towards Seigaku. But that wasn't all that come out of the camp. A small squad of 50 soldiers came out behind the main force.

By 6 A.M. the next day, Rikkai's troops were near the village of Yomi. Seigaku's forces consisted of about 5,000 soldiers and were marching towards the same village. The Elites marched behind them with about 100 soldiers.

The two opposing armies kept on marching for 3 hours and finally met at the border of the two kingdoms. Tezuka looked at the commanding officer from Rikkaidai and saw a familiar face.

_Sanada Genichirou._

* * *

So, next chapter's gonna be the battle between Rikkaidai and Seigaku. I'll clear up some things from this chapter. Both kingdoms are fairly equal in terms of strength, but the Seigaku Elites are about twice as better than the regular army, so that's why they send a few troops. And they're mostly used for back-up right now since Seigaku isn't on the offensive... yet. The Elites are special forces because they were made by the queen herself, and they give more power to Seigaku's overall military strength. Therefore, the captain is very important. But unknown to them, Rikkaidai also has an elite force. Other than the Elites from both sides, only the numbers count, as well as the setting (like a castle).

Since numbers is the key to victory, why is Sanada only bringing 2,000 soldiers with him? He'll clearly lose the battle, unless he has something planned. And why is there an additional 50 troops? Where are they anyways?

I didn't mention but, the base that the regulars are at is the MAIN base for the Elites. There are about 1,000 soldiers there, but there are many more bases for the Elites in Seigaku. Their locations are unknown to Rikkaidai.

I just made up the village of Yomi, but it's in the boundaries of Rikkai. It's a fairly empty village.

A _saya_ is a sheath, scabbard, whatever you wanna call it. A _sageo _is the hanging cord on the sheath. The _tsuka_ is the handle, so the _tsuka ito_ is the cord wrap on it. And last is the _tsuba_, it's the guard for the katana.

Also, a katana takes about 6 months to 1 year to craft, but I just changed that in here because that is WAY too long.

When I first uploaded this chapter, I introduced Echizen into the story. When I edited it the first time, I seem to have deleted his introduction. So barely checking my mail and reading my reviews, I FINALLY noticed. So, I decided to save Echizen for later.

I estimate that the battle will be only one chapter, then after that, maybe I'll re-introduce Ryo-chan.

I feel bad for not replying to my reviewers for Chapter 3 when they also reviewed for Chapter 2, so I guess I'll do that now.

XxSilentSerenityxX: Thank you for reviewing again! I thought about putting Oishi as the vice-captain, but I decided to give it to Fuji because Syu-chan is going to use that position for something later. Sorry but the whole Ryoma thing, but if you bothered to read my new notes, his role will come soon, possibly after the battle. You have to wait to find out about Yukimura and Rikkai's Elites :)

Blim: Oh well, too bad, so sad, right? LOL JK. I feel that Yamato really cares about Seigaku, especially from the New Prince of Tennis manga, so I made him give up his position. He'll reappear in later chapters, unless I change my mind again. I don't think I can make the battle drag on for even ONE chapter, let alone 2, since I had originally planned it to be a minor battle. I haven't really tried describing fight scenes, but I'll try as best as I can :P I have some kind of romance planned between Tezuka and Fuji maybe the next chapter, or the one after that. But again with the Ryoma scene, I feel that it will be better if the story progresses without him yet.

One last comment, Ryoma WILL be a main character once he is introduced. Maybe not at the exact time he comes, but further into the story, he will be.


	4. Battle at Yomi

"Fuji, I don't think this battle is as simple as it looks," Tezuka warned.

"Aa, but I wonder why they came with such low numbers," Fuji replied.

"Be careful and don't do anything reckless. Don't let your guard down."

"Aw, you're worried about me. You look so cute right now, Tezuka," Fuji teased.

Tezuka felt his face turn red as he blushed at this….comment. "Fuji! We'll settle this when we get back to the base. And don't think you can get away with this without receiving proper punishment," Tezuka scolded as he turned back to his horse.

"Aw, why so cruel, Tezuka?" Fuji pouted. Tezuka ignored the comment and kept moving.

* * *

Tezuka and Fuji made their way to the front as both armies stopped moving. Now 250 meters apart, the Seigaku army's 300 archers started raining arrows down on Rikkai's troops. Soldiers fell as arrows pierced them. Rikkaidai was already at a disadvantage. Even so, Sanada ordered them to advance.

'This is strange. There's so few of them and they're coming towards us,' Tezuka thought.

"Tezuka, they don't have any archers. They're all close-combatants," Fuji pointed out.

Tezuka gave his attention to the approaching enemy army and noticed that Fuji was right. There were no archers within those 2,000 soldiers.

Rikkaidai's army charged towards the Seigaku forces. Battle cries sounded. It was only a matter of minutes before the two sides clash and Rikkai would be crushed.

Tezuka knew that Rikkai would not do something as ridiculous as sending a challenge, then bringing a few troops to the field.

All of a sudden, arrows started to rain down on Seigaku's troops. And the majority of these arrows were aimed at… the archers.

500 Rikkai archers occupied the small mountain that surrounded the battlefield.

'Damn, it seems that I was correct. They deployed archers here before any of the two main armies arrived. It seems they are aiming for our archers to save their soldiers down here,' Tezuka thought.

At the end of the first volley, only half of Seigaku's archers remained. Deciding to save these men, Tezuka ordered the archers to gather. He put 400 soldiers and 20 elites to protect them.

"Oi, Tezuka! We only have a few Elites with us, so why are you doing this? Why are you going to save the archers? And shouldn't we use the Elites for close combat?"

"We are going to use our archers to eliminate theirs. They have more than us, so that's why I sent troops to protect them. With their archers gone, we can completely focus on attacking."

"Then we will be with the main force in attacking?"

"Yes. They are getting closer, so get ready."

Soon enough, the army reached them and the real fighting began. Despite their charge, Rikkai's troops were more on the defense.

"Fuji," Tezuka called.

"Alright," Fuji understood. "Attack!" he commanded. 'I hope that our archers will last as long as possible.'

Tezuka and Fuji didn't really fight much, since they were on horseback, and it was harder to swing a katana down from a horse than swinging it on foot. They mostly organized the troops and helped wherever they were needed most.

Tezuka swung his katana downwards and his attacker fell. He watched as blood started flowing down from the wound inflicted. As soon as his body made contact with the ground, it was soon colored red by the blood.

"You bastard!" he heard another yell. Laying his eyes upon the angered enemy soldier, he saw MANY openings. This young man was blinded by his hatred for seeing his friend killed in front of his very own eyes. It couldn't be helped. Tezuka took another swing and the young man met the same fate as his friend.

As he left, Tezuka couldn't remove that image from his eyes. Two dead bodies lying on top of each other, soaked with blood. But he took a closer look and saw that both the soldiers were smiling.

Concerned about a certain genius and subordinate of his, Tezuka tried to find Fuji. He felt his heart calm down when he saw that Fuji was handling things well himself. Soldiers dropped dead once Fuji's katana penetrated their skin. Being called for by a soldier, Tezuka left Fuji's area.

* * *

**Soldier count:**

**Seigaku: 0 archers; 3,000 infantry; 30 Elites; Captain and 2****nd**** in command**

**Rikkaidai: 30 archers; 150 infantry; Captain**

'With only 30 archers, they do not pose a big threat to us anymore. Our victory is assured.'

Fuji continued to the front until his horse cried out. An arrow had been planted deep into the horse's leg. Fuji was literally thrown off his horse, now forced to fight on foot. He heard his name being called by a familiar voice as he also heard the sound of hooves approaching. "Fuji!" Tezuka called. "Are you all right? You're lucky that arrow didn't hit you, but the horse. Be more careful next time."

"Aa, I will. Don't worry about me anymore, Tezuka. After all, weren't you the one who said not to let my guard down?" Fuji asked as he got up on his feet.

"No. I'll be close to you in case anything else happens," Tezuka insisted. An arrow struck his horse in the head and the poor animal dropped dead. "Now, you're really stuck with me."

Meanwhile, up in the mountains…..

The men grabbed their arrows and pulled back as far as they can on the bow. They had clearly heard the order that was given to them before they were deployed to the mountains.

"_There are only 2 men on horseback. Aim for both of their horses when you are few in numbers. Once they are eliminated, you are to shoot at the 2__nd__ in command. Shoot anyone who gets in the way. Stop when I give the order to retreat."_

* * *

"Tezuka, I'm fine, just turn your attention back to the enemy!"

"Fuji, watch out!" Tezuka yelled.

"I'm telling you, you worry too much," Fuji said. When he turned away from Tezuka, he opened his eyes to see 30 arrows flying towards him. There was no time to react. He felt frozen on that spot as the arrows came closer and closer. Time seemed to have stopped as he watched them glide through the air, from the mountains down to the battlefield. He closed his eyes to welcome the pain that was coming in a matter of seconds.

Fuji opened his eyes when he heard the sound of flesh being pierced by many arrows at once. However, he was surprised when he saw a body covering him from the front. A blue and white jacket. An Elite. Fuji looked up to see his savior's face. His eyes widened when he saw the dark brown hair and the glasses that covered his eyes. 'Tezuka…'

"Ugh…" Tezuka groaned as he fell into Fuji's arms.

"TEZUKA!" Fuji screamed. He pulled his captain closer to him into an embrace as he felt tears trying to escape his blue eyes. His hand touched something and when he looked to see what it was, he was slightly horrified. 15 arrows were sunk into Tezuka's back. He was surprised that Tezuka hadn't lost consciousness yet with 15 pieces of sharp metal stuck in him.

Fuji heard footsteps and directed his attention to the coming soldiers. He was relieved when he saw 10 Elites rushing towards them. "Fuji-fukubuchou! Tezuka-buchou!" they called.

"Are you guys all right? We rushed over here when we heard Fuji-fukubuchou's scream," one worried Elite inquired.

"I am fine, but Tezuka isn't," Fuji replied.

"We will block the arrows while you watch over the captain. We cannot risk our 2 superiors. The battle will be over soon, due to the enemy army's numbers."

"All right, I understand."

'Tezuka, this battle will be over soon, and you'll be all right,' Fuji thought, although he was still worried.

The 30 archers in the mountains prepared to shoot at the 10 young men in blue and white uniforms when they saw Sanada signal for a retreat.

The Seigaku army roared in triumph as they saw Rikkaidai's 50 men retreat.

"Fuji-fukubuchou, should we chase their remaining force?"

"No. There's only 50 of them, it's not worth wasting energy over. Besides, we need to get our injured to safety."

"I understand."

"Tezuka, it's over," Fuji said.

"Aa," Tezuka said weakly before falling into a peaceful sleep.

"I'm just glad you're alive," Fuji whispered as tears flowed down his face.

* * *

"Where am I?" Tezuka asked as he tried to sit up.

"In our tent. We set up a field hospital and it's been about an hour since you fell asleep. I also removed the arrows from your body," Fuji answered. "Does it still hurt?" he asked.

"Aa. A little, but I'll manage."

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

When Fuji came back, Tezuka saw a bottle in his hand and a couple of towels.

"What are those?" Tezuka asked, his vision a little blurred.

"You'll see," Fuji smiled. Tezuka thought it was his imagination, but it seemed like Fuji's smile was even more sadistic than before. He couldn't even see clearly, so he decided to leave it alone.

"Stay still," Fuji ordered. Seeing how Tezuka complied with his request, he removed his jacket.

"Fuji?"

"Just stay still." Fuji took off Tezuka's Elite shirt and his undershirt.

He opened the bottle and poured a little on the towel. He put it over Tezuka's wounds and the captain could barely contain himself. "Fuji, you're using rubbing alcohol?"

"Well, your wounds need to be disinfected. And I thought I'd have a little fun teasing you."

Soon enough, Tezuka was groaning in agony as the alcohol took effect. 'Damn that Fuji for doing this to me when I'm awake when he could have done it when I was unconscious.'

After Fuji finished treating Tezuka's wounds, he made him put his clothes back on.

"Ne, Tezuka."

"Hn?"

"Why did you protect me from those arrows?"

"I wanted to protect you. Why else?"

'Damn, I knew that Tezuka sure was dense. He probably did it because I was his 2nd in command.'

Fuji walked over to Tezuka's bed and sat down next to him. He suddenly wrapped his arms around Tezuka and said, "I was so worried about you. You took such reckless actions."

"I was protecting you."

"YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" Fuji scolded.

"Fuji…"

"You had 15 arrows in you, Tezuka. You're lucky 15 missed. A normal soldier would have died. What were you thinking? You're the captain of the Elites and you were leading this battle. You have a more important role than I do, but why did you still do it?"

"Was it so wrong of me to protect someone I love?"

* * *

Stopping it right there for now since I'm getting tired of thinking and typing. Hopefully, I won't take as long for the next update, but that mostly depends on if I'm lazy or not. Battle took shorter than I thought, and I only got 1.8k words in, but whatever. Not very good scenes or descriptions, but I hope it was better than just saying "Seigaku won. Yay."Questions for the next chapter:

Sanada withdrew from the battle, but where has he escaped to? Tezuka has basically confessed to Fuji, and does he realize what he just did? How will Fuji respond to this?

Tezuka and Fuji will have another encounter with Sanada next chapter, but this time, face-to-face. Pst, don't forget the 50 extra soldiers that are who-knows-where. Hopefully, the next chapter will reach 2k words since I have half of it planned out already. Hope you guys enjoyed :D


	5. Betrayal?

Yay, I finally got this chapter done. I will probably do an alternate ending to this story next chapter, even though it's not ending yet. I will probably update faster and include more details and more words from now on, but I can't promise anything.

Reply to reviewers:

Blim: Aw too bad you were wrong about Fuji's reaction, but good guesses. Sanada's role is short because I tried to keep him and his goals as mysteries until later chapters. I will describe him more in later chapters. By the way, a lot of people say he's an ass in the manga LOL.

Midori-Emmi: Details, eh… I rushed this chapter so it doesn't have a lot in there. And when it comes to describing, I really suck at it.

Demoncat13: Thank you :D

XxSilentSerenityxX: I'm glad to hear that you're curious about future events. ^^ Sorry for the VERY late update, but I was just too lazy to start typing. And I'm really happy to hear that you like this story. I hope you won't be disappointed with future chapters :D

By the way, I LOVE Tezuka and Fuji's hair in the OVA's and ESPECIALLY during the finals with Rikkaidai. ^^

Reviews are appreciated :)

* * *

"Tezuka, what do you mean by that?" Fuji asked hesitantly.

Tezuka tried to explain until pain flared up on his back. He collapsed and writhed as he felt the pain intensify. Fuji could barely process what was going on. He could only watch as his captain was twisting and turning. Brought back to reality, he called for a medic.

A soldier, Arai, came rushing to the tent with his medical supplies. When he saw his captain on the ground and his vice-captain beside him, Arai quickly asked him what was going on. Fuji looked just as clueless. "Arai, check what's wrong with him," Fuji said. He nodded in response and prepared a glass of a blue liquid.

"Make him drink this."

"….What IS it?"

"Inui-senpai said to use that when we need someone to pass out."

"Okay then, if Inui says so." Fuji turned his attention to Tezuka who was still having trouble controlling himself.

"Tezuka, drink this. It's made by Inui, so it should help," Fuji said. Seeing how Tezuka can't drink it himself, Fuji had to basically make him drink that who-knows-what. More in an unusual way, the blue content worked and Tezuka fainted.

"Hey, Arai," Fuji called.

"Yes?"

"Does that blue thing have a name or something? Knowing Inui, he probably named it something."

"Ah, that's right. He said its name was 'Aozu', I believe."

"What's in it?"

"Who knows? It smells like just plain vinegar though." Fuji felt as if a sweatdrop had appeared on the back of his head.

Arai placed his hand on Tezuka's forehead and soon pulled back. "His temperature is higher than normal, but it's not high enough for him to have a fever."

"Huh? Then what do you think is wrong?"

"I don't know. Take off his top clothing for me."

Fuji followed Arai's orders and took off Tezuka's jacket, followed by his shirt. "So, any ideas yet?" Fuji asked.

"Nothing's unusual so far. I doubt that there's anything on his lower body. Flip him over," Arai suggested.

After Fuji followed his suggestion, he was speechless. On his captain's back were multiple spots colored in purple. "W-What is this? Were these here before?" Arai asked.

"Come to think of it, they weren't before."

"I have heard that Tezuka-buchou was shot by multiple arrows in our battle. Does that have anything to do with these purple marks?"

"I don't know, but I would guess so."

"Hm… purple IS the color of most poisons. It's very likely that the arrows were poisoned. However, others who have been struck with arrows did not have these purple marks. It seems like only buchou has them."

"This must be a strong poison since it's still taking effect even after I treated Tezuka."

"Inui-senpai also gave me some antidotes for stronger poisons, so it should do the trick."

* * *

"Let's go," a stern voice commanded. Marching in front of 50 soldiers in yellow and black uniforms, he headed for the forest near Yomi.

* * *

"I see you're finally awake," Fuji said.

"How long have I been out?" Tezuka asked.

"Well, it's 8:00 A.M., the day after our battle with Rikkaidai. The army went back to their base. Our Elites decided to occupy the nearby village since you were going to be out for a while. How are you feeling?"

"My back hurts. What happened?"

"You collapsed again."

"I see. Sorry to cause you trouble then."

"It's no problem."

"I'm going for a walk in the forest near the village. I'll be back at around 9:30, then we'll go back to our base."

"Ah, I'll come with you then. I'll tell the others."

"No. I wish to go alone."

"Well, you're not in the situation to be saying things like that."

"Fine, I'll wait for you outside Yomi then." Tezuka put on his jacket and left for the village entrance.

* * *

The walk was as quiet as ever, if not even more than usual. It was more awkward than quiet, though. Neither boy wanted to bring up the topic from the night before. The setting seemed to have matched their mood. The forest was quiet with the occasional wind blowing on the trees, rustling the leaves. Now and then, a few animals would run by and go back into the bush from where they came from.

The peace was broken when the two boys stopped walking. Ahead of them was 50 soldiers in black and yellow. 10 were armed with unusual weapons, 10 with bows and arrows, and the rest with katanas. And in front of the small platoon was the one from the last battle.

"Sanada Genichirou, I assume you and your men have been waiting for us?" Tezuka inquired.

"Oh? So you figured it out. I expected no less from you, my old rival," Sanada said.

"I know what you have come here for. I will give you what you want if you agree to what I want."

"Wait, Tezuka. What are you talking about?" Fuji asked.

"I see you never told your own subordinate, Tezuka. Should I tell him for you?"

"Ne, Tezuka. Tell me," Fuji demanded.

"…"

Fuji got angry and grabbed Tezuka by his collar. "Tell me what you are up to NOW! You better tell me before I get really mad."

"I think you should tell him now, Tezuka. Or else he'll really beat the crap out of you," Sanada said.

"Fuji, I told you that the battle wasn't so simple," Tezuka started.

"And?"

"I knew Sanada's plan ever since we won."

"And you didn't tell me?" Fuji asked angrily, gripping Tezuka's jacket tighter.

"I didn't want to put you in danger," he said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Fuji threw Tezuka on the ground and asked, "Put me in danger? How?"

Recovering from being thrown and getting the dirt off, Tezuka got up and continued. "You will find out after this meeting with Sanada."

"Cut the bullshit!" Fuji yelled. He punched his captain straight in the face hard, making him fall on the ground again.

Tezuka got up again and Fuji just scoffed at him. "It seems like you took it quite well, didn't you, Fuji Syuusuke?" Sanada noticed.

Now having lost all of his patience, Fuji started to charge at the arrogant commander, about to draw his katana. "Fuji, stop!" Tezuka yelled. He ran after him and managed to restrain him.

"Restrain him," Sanada ordered. 4 soldiers shot out chains from the unusual weapons. 2 caught his arms while the other 2 chains caught his legs. The 2 soldiers who caught his leg pulled back on the chain, making Fuji fall.

"So what is it that you want in return, Tezuka?" Sanada asked.

"I want you to leave Fuji alone. I will come with you if you agree to this."

"You know, you really aren't in a situation to be making demands, considering how you came unarmed. But I'll spare you this request. I wasn't planning to harm your subordinate anyways."

"I wish to speak to him for a few minutes if you don't mind."

"Sure, since you two won't be seeing each other anymore. Release the chains," he commanded.

"Fuji, do you see what I 'was up to' now?"

"…I'm sorry I put you through all of this, Tezuka. You've saved me, twice. And now, I can't even repay you," Fuji said, finally understanding.

"This will be our last time seeing each other. Farewell, Fuji."

With that said, Tezuka turned to Sanada and walked towards him. "Shall we go?"

"Aa."

* * *

Fuji returned to the village where the rest of the soldiers were staying. The soldiers were waiting for him at the entrance, noticing the lack of another figure.

"Fuji-fukubuchou, where's Tezuka-buchou?" Arai asked.

"He will not be going back to the base with us," Fuji said sadly.

"Eh? Why not?"

"He is no longer alive."


	6. Revealed Past

**EDITED! :D **

**Warning: Bad writing skills. OOC-ness? A bit of violence. Two Flashbacks that kind of relate to each other. A lot of dialogue.**

**Response to Reviewers: **

**demoncat13:** No, he's still alive. I wouldn't kill a main character without a reason, and I wouldn't know what to write next if he died. If you need it, I can post an explanation in the form of a conversation or just a note.

**Blim:** Hopefully you didn't forget my explanation, but yeah, I suck at keeping people in character. But sometimes, it can't be helped. This chapter should have more OOC-ness, so please bear with me.

**Midori-Emmi:** Yeah, I know I should explain the reasoning and motives, but I can't figure out how to do that without making it even more awkward. And I just like to keep things a bit mysterious. If it's to the point of confusion, maybe I'll edit the chapter later and explain. He's alive but I meant to say it in a way like, his life is already over. Killed later or prisoner, he's going to die sooner or later.

**XxSilentSerenityxX:** That's basically it, except Inui's cure wasn't exactly a "cure" or typeof medicine in any way. It was Aozu, so its purpose was to knock out the person. So was it too confusing, or just too rigged?

**Nadia:** Yeah, well, he's gone now. He can't save Tezuka for many reasons. 1) He doesn't know where they're at. 2) He has no permission. 3) Even if he knew where Tezuka was, would he really sacrifice troops to save him? Maybe he'll find a way, but maybe he won't.

**To the people who inspired me to keep writing. (:**

**Blim**- I also think that way, too. But I think my writer's block is starting to go away, so it's fine now, I guess? :P

**yume229- **I'll try to continue writing the rest of it. I'm glad that you think it's getting exciting. (:

**Seishirou Hitsugaya- **Tezuka won't die, don't worry. Neither will Fuji. Maybe… I can't guarantee a happy ending, though. Thank you. :D

Note: Part of Tezuka's past will be revealed. He had a different name back then. And I suck at making up names, so please bear with it…

* * *

The walk through the forest was long and tiring, especially if you have your hands tied together and have 50 soldiers watching you. Most of all, it was eerily quiet. Unlike Tezuka's rowdy soldiers, Sanada's seemed to be more disciplined. Every order given was obeyed and no one dared to question Sanada's authority.

"So, tell me, what made you decide on this? Your decision seems like betrayal to Seigaku. Betrayal brings dishonor, and I'm sure a noble like you wouldn't want that."

"…"

"I wouldn't try to keep it to myself if I were you. We could always force it out of you, although I see that as pointless. You might want to tell me anyways since my troops could always catch up with your officer. I'll reconsider chasing after Fuji Syuusuke if you reveal the truth behind this simple question. It won't change anything anyways."

There was no point in hiding it from Sanada. He was a very noble man who would never go back on his word, no matter what the situation. Like he said, his intentions wouldn't change anything.

"I already knew you were up to something when we locked eyes on the battlefield. I thought it was strange that you were heavily outnumbered and did not bother to bring archers to make your situation better. You only brought a few soldiers because you were not aiming to win the battle. You were after one thing, and one thing alone. I thought you were going after Fuji since he was the target, but I later realized that it was me. You retreated because you got what you wanted, to weaken me and slow down our Elites' movement of returning to our base. I knew there was no way to make it back before your own troops would catch up with us. Fuji would make us stop while your troops would get closer to us. Our forces are worn out from the short battle before whereas yours didn't fight in it. You would have killed all of us if I didn't come with you."

"You knew this was going to happen, but went with it anyways? Are your men really that important to you?"

"..."

"Such foolishness."

* * *

"Tezuka, have you ever heard of a family killing 7 years ago in Rikkaidai?"

"Aa."

* * *

_~7 Years Ago~_

_Shuzuka Mitsukuni was walking home from running errands for his mother. He suddenly stopped when he caught sight of smoke rising not too far away. He knew where it came from. The smoke was rising from an area surrounded by some trees. He ran home as fast as he could. No, it couldn't be true. _

_Reaching his small house, his eyes widened at the sight. His house was on fire, and he couldn't think of anyone who would do such a thing. He had to find his parents. Not wanting to be reckless, he was quiet when he approached the door. _

_He heard different voices yell out in the living room, followed by the sound of a blade unsheathing. There was a scream and a thump. He saw blood starting to run down to the door. No, this couldn't be happening! Without thinking, he ran inside the house, beginning to inhale the smoke._

_He coughed and was heard by the intruders. "Who's that?" "Get him!" _

_Knowing it was a bad idea to stay inside the burning house, the 11 year old boy ran outside to the trees. "Hey, he's outside! Let's get out of this place before it falls on us," someone yelled. Two men armed with katanas emerged from his house and found him. _

"_Hey kid, where do you think you're going?" the voice demanded. Shuzuka began to panic. What should he do? There are two armed men trying to kill him, and he has no way of protecting himself. He wanted to run away, but his legs were frozen. _

_The men approached him and one elbowed him to the ground. "Hey, is it really a good idea to kill this kid? He can't even run away, let alone fight back." _

"_It'd be troublesome if there are any survivors. Just kill him." _

"_Fine, just let me mess around with him for a bit." _

_He grabbed the kid's shirt and held him by the collar. He threw aside his katana and beat the poor kid. The intruder punched him repeatedly, assaulting most of his body parts. He kneed Shuzuka in the stomach, making him double over at the pain. He started to cough up blood from that blow. The man elbowed him from the back, knocking him to the ground. Then he started to kick the boy on the ground. "Hey kid, get up. I'm not done with you yet."_

"_We don't have all day," the other said, "finish up."_

_Dragging himself up, Shuzuka managed to ask him a question. "W-What did you do.. to my family?" _

"_Huh? Like I'm going to tell you that!" The man laughed. _

"_Why… are you doing this? What have we done to you?" _

"_Pretty talkative, aren't you, kid? Even if I told you, you're too young to understand." He walked over to where the kid was standing, and threw him against a tree. "This is where you will die. Go join your mother in the other world." He picked up his katana and was about to kill the boy when he saw someone rushing towards him. _

_He managed to get his weapon in time to block the blow. "Father!" he heard the boy yell. _

_His attacker looked back at his son and yelled, "Mitsukuni, run away from here! Escape to Seigaku while you can!" The 2nd man joined the first to overpower the boy's father. Shuzuka obeyed his father and ran as fast as he could, heading to the border between Rikkaidai and Seigaku. He looked back and saw his father easily get defeated. _

"_Should we chase him? You said no survivors." _

"_No, just let him go. This is too much for him to remember. He's a little boy anyways. We can cover it up."_

* * *

_~2 Weeks Later~_

_Shuzuka wandered about the village. It was so cold. His clothes were ragged and torn. He finally crossed over to Seigaku, but he still felt the same. He sat on the side of the street, lost in thoughts. People walked by him like he wasn't there. No one would notice a homeless orphan on the street. _

_A few people walked by and he heard them chatter about an incident in Rikkaidai. "Hey, did you hear? There was a massacre of a family in Rikkaidai 2 weeks ago." _

"_How terrible. Were there any survivors?" _

"_Hm, a lot of people say every member of the house was killed. But some say the boy escaped." _

"_I wonder where that boy is… if he managed to get away." _

_Shuzuka didn't care to listen to the rest of the surrounding conversations anymore. Some people gave him food to prevent starvation before. It was too cold. He felt as if he was freezing to death. He was in an unknown territory, and no one was going to help him. _

_He looked down at the ground and just sat there. Then, he felt a blanket on him. It was so warm. He looked up at the stranger. _

"_Hey boy, are you lost?" she asked. _

"_A-Aa…" he answered. _

"_Where are your parents?"_

"_My parents were killed two weeks ago," he said honestly._

"_You're not from this kingdom, are you?"_

"_No."_

"_Are you… the survivor of that family massacre two weeks ago?" she asked suspiciously._

"_Yes." _

"_Tell you what, I will adopt you. Is that okay with you?" _

"_I'm… not sure…" he wondered. _

"_You have nowhere else to go. Are you sure you want to turn down my offer?" _

"…_." _

"_Come with me," she reached out with her hand._

_Shuzuka took her hand and got up. He wondered who this mysterious woman was, wanting to adopt someone from a different kingdom. "May I ask… your name?" _

_The woman looked at him and smiled, "My name is Tezuka Ayana. And what about you?" _

"_Shuzuka Mitsukuni. Um, Tezuka-san, I have heard about your family from Rikkaidai multiple times before. They are said to be very powerful and honorable. Why would you want to adopt an orphan from another kingdom?" _

"_Hm, I wonder. I wouldn't want to leave a homeless orphan out on the street to die. You seem like an interesting boy. Our family also needs a successor." _

"_Ah, I see…"_

_When they reached the manor, Ayana introduced Shuzuka to his new family. The father's name was Tezuka Kuniharu and the grandfather was Tezuka Kunikazu. "Ayana, who is this?" Kunikazu asked. "This boy is the survivor of the massacre in Rikkaidai two weeks ago, Shuzuka Mitsukuni. You said we needed a successor, so I thought this boy will do," Ayana explained. _

"_If he's going to stay with us, then his name needs to be changed. From this day forth, you will be known as Tezuka Kunimitsu, understood?" _

_The boy nodded in understanding. Ayana told him to follow her so that he can take a shower and get his room when Kunikazu said, "Ayana, come see me when you are finished." She nodded and led the boy to the shower room. _

_Ayana came to the main room and saw her husband and father waiting for her. Kuniharu quickly glanced at her, and then took an interest in the table. Ayana looked at him questioningly before turning back to Kunikazu. _

"_Ayana," Kunikazu started, "you can't expect me to easily accept this boy." Ayana sighed and continued to look at him. "The kid is from another country!" _

"_But father, there must have been a reason for the incident! That family was probably betraying Rikkaidai, and therefore, was eliminated," she reasoned. _

_"We still can't trust him." _

_Ayana looked to Kuniharu pleadingly, but he only looked at her with an unmoving face. Then he spoke up. "If this is how you feel, we can keep watch on him if that is what is needed." _

_Kunikazu felt like his words weren't getting through his children's brains. After they argued, or "debated," the old man gave in. _

"_But don't forget, if he ever even tries anything, he will face the consequences." _

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

"Did you really think no one would find out about your hidden past? Did you really think you could hide it forever?"

"…."

"What you did was treason. You escaped Rikkaidai and stayed in Seigaku. You will still be penalized."

"…."

"Strip," Sanada commanded, "and stand between those two trees when you finish."

Tezuka didn't say anything, but he still followed the orders of the Rikkai officer. Still weakened from his injuries obtained from the last battle, he had to take off his clothes slowly. He was placing them by one of the trees when Sanada told him to also take off his glasses. Sighing, he obeyed. Although his vision was blurred, Tezuka made his way to the middle of the trees and waited.

Sanada threw lengths of rope to 2 soldiers and told them to tie Tezuka's hands to the trees. As they tied the rope around his hands, Tezuka felt a shock of pain. His wrists had gotten red from the binds before, and it hurt even more when they were put back on him. But he refused to show any sign of pain.

Sanada walked towards Tezuka and seemed to be looking for something. "This is strange. Where's your belt? Aren't you supposed to be wearing your belt?"* Tezuka continued to remain silent.

"That's a shame. It would have been fitting to punish you with your own family's symbol since you've ended up betraying them in the end."

"…"

* * *

_~5 Years Ago~_

_The sound of a crack echoed throughout the Tezuka manor. A scream soon followed. _

"_Father!" Ayana screamed, "please stop!" The old man refused to listen to his daughter's pleas. Two men held someone in the room while Kunikazu held a belt in his hand. He brought it down and Ayana looked away. Kuniharu did the same. _

"_You will learn the consequences of messing around with us!" he roared. He continued to discipline the 13 year old teen held by the two guards. "What do you have to say?" _

_Tezuka raised his head and looked at his grandfather questioningly. "I.. don't know what you're talking about, grandfather," he managed to say. In response, he got hit again. He grunted at the pain. "I know you snuck out last night. "Where did you go?" Kunikazu demanded. _

"_I told you, I was only out taking a walk," he answered. And again came down the belt. "Don't mess with me, you liar! Tell me what you were really up to before I kill you," Kunikazu threatened. _

_Panting heavily, it took a while for Tezuka to catch his breath. "It's not a lie. Why won't you believe me? What are you suspecting me of?" he questioned back. He couldn't believe that his grandfather would really punish him like this. _

"_What else would I ever suspect you of? Did you forget you were originally from Rikkaidai? You were probably off to send information to the enemy," he delivered another blow. Kuniharu pitifully looked at his son and remained silent. Ayana's eyes started to water at the sight of Tezuka. Blood was running down like crazy from the wounds Kunikazu had inflicted on him. It colored his shirt red, which was on the floor next to him. Tezuka started to feel lightheaded._

"_Grandfather…" Tezuka struggled to say, "I would never do that…" _

"_Don't argue with me!" The strikes continued to come. His back was screaming at the pain although he didn't yell. After the 179th blow or so, Tezuka collapsed. When Kunikazu got ready to inflict more blows, Ayana grabbed his arm and stopped him from further hitting Tezuka. _

"_Please... Don't continue to do this to Kunimitsu," she pleaded, "he has already suffered enough." Kuniharu came over and assisted her in holding back Kunikazu. He glared at his children in shock. His eyes said, 'Don't defy me or else you'll end up like him.' But they didn't give in. _

_Still maintaining his last bit on consciousness, Tezuka wanted to prevent him from hurting his parents. He struggled to stand up, but luckily, the guards had some mercy on him. Ayana and Kuniharu let go of Kunikazu's arm when they caught sight of him standing."Please hear me out, grandfather," he begged. Lifting his eyebrow, Kunikazu decided to listen to his grandson. "I do not care what you do to me and I know you are serious, so please don't hurt them…" Even though he was very weak, his words came out unwavering. His deep brown eyes showed nothing but determination. _

_Ayana and Kuniharu stood there frozen, in utter shock at what their son had said. "You certainly are an interesting boy," Kunikazu almost laughed, despite his stoic mask. Tezuka looked at him with a confused look that said 'What do you mean?' "Then let me ask you this. If I do not harm your 'parents,' will you accept any punishment I give you, even death?" he asked. _

_Tezuka nodded without hesitation. Ayana and Kuniharu were still frozen, except they were now staring at their heavily injured son. A silence filled the room, and nobody moved. Blood continued to drip from his wounds. While everyone else did nothing, Tezuka struggled to keep his eyes open. After a few minutes of silence, he lost his consciousness and passed out in the arms of the two guards._

"_You can release him now," Kunikazu told them. They obeyed and set the teen down in his own pool of blood. Ayana finally snapped out of her trance and cautiously asked, "Are you... going to kill him?" Kunikazu glanced at her and sat down on a chair. "If you want him to live, you should clean up his blood, get a doctor, and look after him." That was all he said before excusing the guards. _

_Kuniharu quietly thanked his 'merciful' father before helping Ayana. They carried Tezuka to his room after cleaning up his blood and called for a doctor. "What are you going to do?" Kuniharu asked. Ayana said nothing and continued to stare at the still body of Tezuka. She pulled the blanket over him and said, "We can get a maid or a servant to do my work. I will stay here with Kunimitsu." _

_When the doctor arrived, he examined Tezuka. Then he carefully bandaged his body. Turning to Ayana, he said that it would take a week for Tezuka to even stand up again. It would take another 3 days for him to walk normally. Apparently, the metal parts of the belt infected his already-open cuts. Since Kunikazu continued to punish him and left him there for a while, the infection spread. Even if he disinfected the wounds, it was already too late. But even so, he would still live…_

_Ayana never left her son's side. She sat next to him all day, every day. She would even sleep beside him. All she did was stare at Tezuka's bandaged body, waiting for him to awaken._

_'Maybe I should have never took him in. This wouldn't have happened if I left him alone. But if I did, he would have died in the streets...'_

_Surprisingly, it didn't take a week for him to wake up, but only 3 days. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by his mother's face. Slightly disoriented and not having his glasses on, he couldn't see her expression. He tried to sit up and saw her face coming closer. Then he felt her arms wrap around him and grunted at the brief pain. Water started to wet his shirt. Realizing that they were tears, he confusedly asked, "Mother...?" _

_Her hand roamed through his messy hair before pulling away from him and caressed his cheeks. "Is anything wrong?" he asked worriedly. Ayana stared at him like he was crazy. "I was worried sick about you, Kunimitsu..."_

"_You were worried about me?" he replied while rubbing his eyes. _

"_Of course! Why would I not?" she stated as a matter of fact. _

"_Grandfather still doesn't trust me. I thought you'd think the same way… What punishment did he decide on?" _

"_There isn't one."_

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Father says that he was testing you."_

"Aa… _I see.."_

_Still very tired, Tezuka drifted off to sleep. Ayana was surprised that her son didn't complain or yell at her words. She felt guilty for lying to her own child, but she hoped that it was true. It would be bad if Kunikazu actually intended to kill him..._

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

"How many lashes?"

"300 is enough."

"But sir, isn't betrayal 150?"

"Just do as I say," Sanada shot him a death glare.

"Yes sir…"

* * *

Fuji walked back to his tent alone while the soldiers waited for him at the front. Packing his and Tezuka's items, he noticed something on the spot where Tezuka once lay. He knelt down and took a closer look at it. A note. He picked it up and read it.

"_If you can, please return these. Thank you." _

Although there was no specification as to where to return the items, Fuji had a pretty good idea. He opened his sharp, blue eyes. There was a white belt marked with a T and a set of dual white katanas also marked with T's. Fuji knew exactly what the T's stood for.

* * *

**Note: Each powerful family has a special belt they wear at all times. It's kind of like pride. Like say, when Tezuka and Fuji went to war, they both wore their family's belt to show that they belonged to their respective families. But every soldier always wear their army uniform over, so it is usually not seen. Yes, this is made up, that's why it's an AU. :P**

**Yay, I actually finished! Actually, I was gonna make it longer, adding Fuji, but I didn't want to take longer on this than I already had. I might as well upload it up to this part since I got SUMMER SCHOOL... Well, I hope you guys enjoyed :D See you guys next time ^^**

**Oh, and please review! You don't need an account to do it, and it doesn't hurt to leave a comment. :D**


	7. Consequences

Fuji bent over to collect the items when he noticed a line of dull-red color. _His blood. _He remembered the arrows penetrated Tezuka's skin and how the blood ran down his body. He would rather see his captain wounded than be taken by the enemy, most likely never to be seen again.

A surge of anger coursed through his veins and Fuji firmly squeezed the scabbard. _How could you? _

The soldiers stood still, still not being able to believe the news. "You can't possibly mean..."

Fuji shook his head. "It's not what you think. Our captain has violated many of Seigaku's laws, including treason. He is now considered dead to our kingdom."

This statement shocked many of the men. They had always believed their captain to be the most disciplined person. The most important thing in his life was probably following and enforcing the kingdom's laws, no matter how stupid or pointless they were.

Silence hung in the air. One battle and this is what happens? Of course, lives are lost and sacrifices have to be made in war. But somehow, it felt like Seigaku had lost more than just one soldier after the battle. How would the others at the base take this? Captain Yamato and Queen Ryuzaki had believed that Tezuka would be a great captain. Now he probably joined enemy ranks or something.

"We should start heading back to the base. The sooner we get there, the better."

* * *

"I'll be lenient on you this time. You won't be so lucky once we get back to the castle." Sanada gave Tezuka one last scowl before the soldier started to carry out the sentence.

The Rikkai Elites stood in their crowd, waiting to see this man suffer even before interrogation. To be one of Rikkaidai's prisoners usually didn't go well for most people.

The first crack was heard by all. Sanada noticed resistance in the other man. He had seen that his archers hit their target with added effects in the arrows. It was only what, a few hours since then? He knew that the wounds still hurt. Maybe they even itched_. _To be hit there with a whip had to have an effect. Yet he saw Tezuka trying to hold in his cries. Oh, this was going to be fun.

As the whip continued to resound, Sanada inspected the damage. Lines intersected everywhere. Blood was _very _fresh and visible, running down the prisoner's back and staining the lower half of his uniform red. Wounds reopened, letting loose more blood. Sanada watched as the leather made contact with skin and smiled when the body trembled. He was sure that no one could hear the panting of the tortured man, but now that they were only five inches apart, Sanada surely heard them.

He noticed that Tezuka tensed by balling his fists whenever the strikes came harder than usual. His head was down by now, messy hair falling over him. His face was hidden under all of his hair. His expression couldn't be seen. Sanada grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to make eye contact. Both of their gazes were stone cold. Anger and hatred burned in Sanada's while determination and resistance made themselves clear in Tezuka's dark brown ones. "I want to hear you cry out in pain," Sanada demanded. But this made the other's resolve even stronger.

70 lashes must have gone by. Still no cries. With the motion of one hand, the soldier stopped. He took a moment to clean the blood off of the whip with some water. Then he took another bottle of water and began to drink some. One second later, he spit it all out in a shower all over his victim's lacerations, eliciting a small grunt. The guy behind him threw all of the water at him and it felt like the cuts were sizzling. Tezuka cried out in agony, much to Sanada's satisfaction. He threw his head back as his body tensed. He could feel his fingers digging into his hands, desperately trying to calm the burning pain. A few that were watching in the crowd flinched or winced a little.

"You're welcome," the guy said sarcastically.

"Ready for the front?" The maliciousness in Sanada's voice was clear to everyone.

If possible, the front ended up looking worse than the back. Bare skin was scarce as the majority was covered by blood. Tezuka was feeling lightheaded now, probably from the loss of blood. "Captain, he's on the verge of unconsciousness. Should I continue anyways?"

Sanada examined the body's condition. It did look bad. If he passed out, it would bring more trouble. He scowled. "We'll finish this later." Sanada touched Tezuka's chest, brushing his fingers on the long cuts. He dug his finger into one particularly deep laceration and drew more blood from it, earning a groan from the tortured man. "You will see that this isn't nearly as painful as the things you will experience at the castle," he hissed venomously. He turned and said, "Make sure he doesn't die before we arrive."

"Yes, sir." The guy threw water all over Tezuka's body once more. He was too tired to even react. The soldier drew his sword and skillfully cut the ropes, leaving a beaten Tezuka. He fell to his knees, but caught himself before completely collapsing.

The same soldier threw Tezuka his clothes and left him to put them on. However, Tezuka was seeing double. Blood loss really made him dizzy. _How pathetic. _He was ashamed enough. Even in his bent position, he could feel the warm liquid running down. Then he saw his wrists. They didn't look that bad compared to other parts of his body. Good thing he wore an extra undershirt. He took the white one and used it to clean off the blood. He put on the blue one, then put on the heavy Elite jacket. As he put on his glasses, they set off for Rikkaidai's castle.

* * *

The remaining Elites reached the base at dusk. They all went back to their separate buildings and decided to rest for the night. Fuji was greeted by his friends once he got to Wing A. At first, their expressions were happy to see him return, but then they noticed there was one person missing. "Fuji, is Tezuka still outside or something?" Oishi asked.

Fuji's smile wasn't on, replaced by a neutral mask. Oishi saw that he had been carrying two extra katanas and a belt slung over his shoulder. Then he saw that the belt had an intricate T engraved in it. He knew who that belonged to. And he knew that the owner always carried his own things. _No, it's impossible._

"Why are you carrying the captain's stuff?" he finally asked. Realization dawned on everyone as they understood what Oishi was implying. No one was smiling now. "Has he fallen in battle?"

But Fuji didn't answer any of these questions. He simply shook his head and went to sleep.

While the others persisted on getting answers, Kikumaru yelled, "Hey! He's had a difficult time these past few days. Let him get his rest and we can find out tomorrow." Momoshiro was about to protest when Oishi gave him a stare. He sighed and they all agreed to leave Fuji alone.

The next morning, Kaidoh woke up to find that Fuji was gone. He took the captain's belongings, left his own, and took a horse. On his bed, there was a note that said "Left for a short visit. Be back soon."

"Well, if it isn't Fuji Syusuke!" Queen Ryuzaki said as Fuji was led into the throne room. He got on one knee and respectfully bowed. "Your Majesty, I have news from the Elites' battle against Rikkaidai a few days ago."

The queen raised her eyebrow, obviously not pleased. "It is the captain's duty to report, not his second in command."

"I understand, but the captain is absent. That was something I was going to report, Your Majesty. Tezuka Kunimitsu has committed treason after the battle."

Queen Ryuzaki was visibly upset by this, but she gestured for Fuji to continue. "To my knowledge, Tezuka Kunimitsu was plotting with the captain of the enemy army, Sanada Genichirou. They met up in the forest near Yomi and Tezuka defected to Rikkaidai. He is a traitor. I do not know his current status." Fuji had no doubt in his voice, but he heard it in his mind.

The queen didn't like this at all. She was furious. Even outraged. Treason is one of the worst possible crimes in Seigaku. Yet, her Elite captain has done just that. "Shame on his family! I will notify the Elites and the Tezuka household myself. For such a cheerful-looking guy, you sure bring bad news, Fuji Syusuke. Thank you, you may go now."

* * *

"That can't be possible!" Momoshiro yelled. Even among all of the people, his voice was clearly heard. "There's no way the captain would do something like that!" Others started to agree. It got loud in the audience when the queen was about to silence them. Before she could do that, Fuji beat her to it.

"I was there myself," he said coldly, "I saw him leave with the enemy officer. Do you think I would lie about this?" As he said that, Queen Ryuzaki saw a look of anger on his face. His tone of voice was harsh. It made his statements more convincing.

Everyone soon realized that their vice-captain had a bit of regret. And they knew that he was honest when (if ever) he got serious. It was true after all.

By declaration of Queen Ryuzaki, the Elites were put on hold for now. No battles, no real action, nothing. They would be involved in the war again once she appoints a new captain and sorts things out. No one complained. They didn't really want to go to battle that much now that they lost one of the best fighters. "One last thing. If any of you shall ever encounter Tezuka Kunimitsu on the battlefield or anywhere else, take him prisoner. I'm sure his family would be more than happy to see him."

One hour after that, Fuji left once again to pay a visit to the Tezuka household. As he was lead into the main room, he saw that the servants and guards didn't look too happy. _I guess the news already got here.__  
_

Tezuka's parents looked _very _disappointed. His grandfather looked absolutely _furious. _

The greetings phase went by pretty quick since no one was in the mood to talk. Then Fuji laid out three items. "He wanted to return these to you."

Kunikazu was outraged. "Why return them if he was going to betray the entire kingdom!" Judging from the couple's reactions, or lack of, it seemed like the old man had been yelling enough.

Fuji felt sympathy for these people. Their status went down because of one person. Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore. "There's something you should know, Tezuka-san."

The three people in the room looked at him, desperate for good news. "After the battle, we needed to treat our injured soldiers. In that time, Sanada Genichirou already had his Elite soldiers nearby. Tezuka seemed to be aware of this plan and willingly gave himself over to the enemy. In return, the rest of us safely returned to the base."

The elder Tezuka met Fuji's eyes. There was the same determination he saw through his grandson's eyes years ago. An understanding passed through them. "Thank you, Fuji Syusuke. I wish you luck on your _future battles." _

As Fuji left, Kunikazu said to his children, "That Fuji Syusuke is a brave, loyal, and daring kid." They looked at him, not knowing what he meant by that.

* * *

It was dark. The prison just _had _to be underground, didn't it? The dampness made Tezuka's wrists sweat a little against the rope bindings. The guy behind pushed him to walk faster. Tezuka looked around, seeing the most miserable people in the cells. But there weren't that many of them.

"Do you know why we don't have a lot of prisoners? We don't take them that often." Tezuka could hear the cruel tone in his voice as he said that. Of course. Rikkaidai was merciless most of the time. They would just kill those who surrender. "And not many of them live that long." He got what Sanada implied. "_Not many survive our torture," is what he meant. _

Sanada opened a metal door and the soldier pushed the prisoner inside. Four braziers stood at each corner of the room with one in the middle. Sitting next to it was a teen who looked 19 or so. He had curly black hair and devilish eyes. On the outside, he didn't look very strong but Tezuka noticed that he wore the Rikkai Elite uniform. The soldier seemed bored as he had one leg over the other, yawning at the wall to his right.

There was a table with tools littered on it. There was a long metal tool that looked like something a blacksmith would use to grab flaming hot objects. A few bottles were also sitting on the table among the tools. Duct tape, some chains, cotton balls, and a couple green balls. Leaning against the side of the table was a tennis racket. Maybe the dude gets bored and is too lazy to go outside to play.

The end of the room had two chains hanging from the ceiling and two more from the ground. There was a similar setup with with right wall.

"Akaya," Sanada called. The soldier turned to him and examined the other two in the room. "Do I finally get to do something now, captain?" he said eagerly. The soldier behind Tezuka backed up one step and bowed to Sanada, taking his leave.

"Listen carefully, Akaya. This man is the captain of an elite force from Seigaku, Tezuka Kunimitsu. Find out whatever you can from him. And whatever you do, you can _not _kill him, you understand? I don't care if he's half-dead. Your only restriction is keep him _alive._"

"That will be a little harder than usual, but I'll try my best. Thank you!" This guy sounded way too excited as he licked his lips in anticipation. It was completely clear now that he was an interrogator. A very _sadistic _one. Perfect for the job.

As Sanada left, he said, "You're going to wish that you were dead." The thought wasn't very positive on Tezuka's part. The metal door closed and the man known as Akaya walked towards his new "friend." "Nice to meet you, Tezuka-san. My name is Kirihara Akaya. I think we'll get along just fine," he said with an evil grin.

"Let's get to business, shall we? Hm... get answers... Okay. How about this? Your first question is: Where is the base for the Seigaku Elites? We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's up to you."

Tezuka refused to say a word. There was no way he would reveal anything to the enemy. After moments of silence, Kirihara laughed. "Thank god! You know, Tezuka-san, I was afraid that you were going to pick the easy way. Then I would have less fun, right? It gives me _great _pleasure to physically break a person." He laughed even more maniacally and Tezuka was sure that this wasn't going to be a pleasant experience. Even so, his stoic mask was on and displayed resistance as much as possible.

Kirihara came closer until the two were only centimeters apart. "You have such a handsome face, Tezuka-san." Despite his tone of voice, Tezuka could tell he was serious. "Let's see if your body can compare to your face."

As Kirihara was about to zip down his prey's jacket, pain exploded in his gut. He was about to double over when his anger got the best of him. His eyes turned red and he said, "So you _can _fight. That's great, I like strong people. And beating the shit out of them gives me immense _joy." _

Tezuka backed up as the devil came closer and closer. Until he found his back against the wall. Kirihara took this opportunity to rush forward. He avoided the other's kicks and returned a kick to the private area. Tezuka groaned loudly in response to getting his sensitive organs kicked. He doubled over and desperately tried to free his hands. The inability to use your hands to cover your private area increases the amount of pain you feel down there.

He was too distracted to notice Kirihara chain his legs. _Gotcha._ Kirihara smirked. Now he had no way to retaliate. He went over to the table and picked up a knife. He grabbed the trapped man's hands and cut the rope binding them. After a few minutes of trying to get a hold on Tezuka's wrists, he finally got them chained. "There's no way you're going to get out of those by yourself," he teased with a smile. This man kinda reminded him of Fuji. The degree of sadism, the smile. _But he's not anyone I know._

All of his thoughts stopped when he remembered what Kirihara was going to do. Kirihara grabbed the zipper of the jacket and pulled it down in an instant. He grabbed the blue shirt and cut it in half. He took the cloth and threw it to the side, along with the knife. His eyes were focusing only on the body in front of him.

"Aw, what the hell?" he sounded like a little kid. Tezuka was the one getting partially molested here and _he _says "What the hell?" "I wasn't the first one to injure you? I am going to kill the guy who got you first... But there's a bright side. You look much more hotter with those scars." Kirihara licked his lips as his hands roamed across the toned body of the former captain. "Looks like both your face and your body are sexy, Tezuka-san. It's really a shame that we're enemies." It was official. Kirihara Akaya is _crazy. _

Just as that thought came to mind, Kirihara moved back. He laughed, "You'll find out if I'm crazy or not." Tezuka looked surprised. "Judging from what you just did, I believe you are one insane person."

"Hm... Maybe it's just because I'm gay. Are you against homosexuals, Tezuka-san?" Tezuka flinched. _No. Not at all. Not. At. All. _

"Anyways, let's get on with this," Kirihara said. He picked up his knife and came over to his victim, twirling the dangerous weapon in front of his face. His left hand pressed against the wall and allowed him to lean on it. With his right hand, he gently drew shapes on the previously injured skin. "Tell me, Tezuka-san. Where is the base of the Seigaku Elites?" All he received was a cold stare.

"Are you sure you should be resisting?" he innocently said as he put a little pressure on the knife. Tezuka winced as the weapon trailed further down his body, making a long cut. Kirihara pulled his hand back and licked the warm red liquid off the knife while his eyes grew even redder.

He sounded more excited now, "I'll ask you again. Where is the base?"

Another glare.

"You're going to be worth crushing," Kirihara said with a sadistic grin.

* * *

Review or else I shall send Kirihara after you. But on a serious note, please review! There's no harm in taking no more than 5 minutes to drop a comment _and _you don't even have to have a ffn account. Thanks for reading (:


End file.
